Misplaced Trust
by hopefulromanticx
Summary: New humans are being found regularly, and when they come to visit Jeb's caves, Wanda welcomes them. She trusts them. But this misplaced trust places her life and Ian's life on the line.
1. Misplaced Trust

Misplaced Trust

POV- Wanda/Wanderer

"Ian..." I say softly and grab his arm. We are standing in the fields of wheat; it is almost time for harvest again. It's been a year since I showed up at the caves, and there is more to worry about than just the crops this year. More human refuges have been discovered and more and more souls are being evacuated from human bodies. "Talk to me, please." I beg him. He's never been afraid to say how he feels with me. Why now? Why was he holding back now?

"I have already told you Wanda, something is not right about them. There's nothing more to say." Ian looks at me and his eyes are exhausted. "I don't want to fight."

He is referring to the new group of humans Jared and Mel came across on one of their "vacations". They have moments when they want to get away from everyone and the caves and so they take little short trips and call them vacations. I knew it was a way they could be alone. At first Jeb was against it, but when they brought back medicines and cryotanks from hospitals, Jeb didn't argue with them.

"You know Jeb is taking precautions. He's so paranoid about everything." I say gently. My hands slowly move up his softly. Touching his skin still makes my heart leap and I do not think I will ever get used to it. At my touch, his expression warms slightly, his eyes soften and I can tell he is finding some peace.

Ian moves closer. "I am sorry; I kind of snapped." He says softly and moves closer to me. His arms wrap around my waist and I lean into him. His familiar smell fills my nose and I take it in for a moment. He smells of earth and soap. "I just don't have a good feeling about them. I don't like the way they look at you." He says and I look up to meet his blue eyes.

"I trust them Ian." I tell him. "Plus, you wouldn't let anything happen to me."

"I can't lose you, Wanda." Ian says and kisses my forehead. I wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze him tightly against me.

"You're not going to lose me." I tell him, because I am now certain that we will spend the rest of our days together. "I am going to stay right here forever."

"You better." Ian says and his hand lifts my chin up so his lips can meet mine. I disappear in the kiss and forget about where we are or the fact that someone could be around. I forget about the caves, the humans and the souls. I am completely consumed by Ian and everything that is Ian. How do humans ever survive losing this? I couldn't imagine…

The kiss doesn't last long enough, because Ian pulls away with a warm smile on his face. "Let's go to our room okay?"

"Isn't Jamie going to be there?" I ask him.

"Wanderer, are you trying to get me alone?" Ian smirks and takes my hand and starts walking toward the room.

"Maybe," I smirk back to him.

Ian stops walking abruptly and pulls me against him. His lips crash on mine and I am swept away by him again. Completely consumed. He pulls away, faster than before. "You have no idea how beautiful you are." He whispers and his voice sounds different, huskier somehow. I decide not to fight him on the fact that this isn't my body, because I like him calling me beautiful and I don't want what we are doing to stop. "I told the kid to stay with Melanie and Jared tonight. They can have Jamie-sitting one night." He gives me a big smile and I fill with warmth throughout my whole body.

I start giggling as he leads me to the room. We are almost there when someone grabs me and rips me away from Ian. I scream as arms wrap around me. I squirm trying to get away from my captor and trying to get back to the safety of Ian's arms.

"Wanda!" Ian shouts. It is dark, I can hardly see but two men push Ian against the wall. I cannot really identify them but I know they are not part of our group. They are new and foreign.

"Ian!" I screech. I squirm again trying to break away but I can't. If I was still in Mel's body I probably could have fought off the person who held me but not in this weak body.

"You and it!" One of the men spits and punches Ian in the gut.

"Disgusting!" The other says and punches Ian's cheek. It is happening so fast that I can't think, or react properly. I just know they are going to kill him in front of my eyes and then they will kill me. They will probably rip me from this human body. But that does not even bother me. Ian cannot die. I cannot imagine Earth without him.

"Stop!" Please! It's me! Not him!" I squirm. My hands find flesh and I dig my nails as hard as I can.

"Shit!" The man that is holding me says and his grip loosens. I throw my elbows back and they meet bones. He curses again and lets me go. I run and pull on one of the men.

"Please! Don't hurt him! It's me you are after! Stop! Please!" I shout as I pound and scratch into the man's back. They keep hitting Ian and I feel every hit against my body as if I am the one being hit. My heart drops at the thought of Ian dying because of me. These men are after him because of his love for me. This is my fault and I can't stop them from killing him, I am too weak. He turns abruptly and grips my wrist so hard I am sure it will break.

"Parasite! I should kill you right now!" The man says.

"Do it! Just don't hurt him anymore!" I plead with him. "Please…"

"Wanda! No!" Ian fights the other man but he is not strong enough after getting beaten. He grunts when one of the men punches him in his gut and he falls. I move toward him but the man won't let me go. His other hand goes to my neck and squeezes hard. His dark eyes are filled with hatred and I can barely breathe through my constricted airway.

"Derek!" The third man shouts to get his attention and his voice is panicked. I look and see Jeb with his gun to the one of the other man's head.

"Why don't you let our friend go?" Jeb says calmly.

I look over to Ian and see that Jared's arm is wrapped around Ian's attacker's neck. Jared has a small knife close to the man's side.

"And then we might not kill you." Kyle's voice says, as he presses a knife blade to the neck of the man holding me. "But, no promises."

The man's grip loosens and he lets me drop to the ground. I rush over to Ian and wrap my arms around him. He groans in pain and my stomach and heart drop at seeing him in pain because of me, because of who I am, and because he dares to love who I am.

Kyle grabs the third man. Jeb, Jared, and Kyle start to lead the men out. "We'll get Doc, Wanda. We just have to lock these bastards up." Kyle says and I can see his anger. I nod and I return my focus to Ian. I run my hands gently over his hair; I'm not sure what else to do.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper over and over again, wishing I could go back in time and stop the attack. I could have suggested we stay in the field longer, or stayed with the others at dinner longer, or refused to let the strangers in the cave. But I was open to the strangers and trusting of their kindness. Now, Ian is hurt and I am helpless.

"Wanderer…" Ian says weakly.

"I'm right here, Ian. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." I tell him.

"Wanda!" Doc's voice interrupts another apology. "Jeb said you and Ian were attacked. Oh, Lord!" Doc's face pales. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I say, shaking now as the adrenaline subsides slightly. "Ian- It's Ian… he needs you."

"Need some help carrying him?" Kyle asks and I notice Jared has returned too.

"That would be very helpful Kyle." Doc says. Jared, Kyle, and Doc gently lift Ian and he grunts a little more. "Careful, he could have broken bones! Don't move him too much!"

They head towards Doc's office and I find myself falling to the floor and burying my head between my knees. "Wanda, are you coming?" I hear Kyle ask.

"I'll be there in a second. I… I need a moment. Please." I say.

"See you in a bit." Kyle says and they leave.

I find myself crying silently into my knees and shaking. I must look crazy, I must look weak. How did everything go so wrong so quickly?

"Wanda?" Sunny's high voice says. "Oh dear! Wanda!" She says and rushes to my side. Her hand rests on my knee, and she lets me continue to cry without asking what happened.

After my tears have calmed, she gently runs her hands over my hair. "It is okay. It is over." She reassures me. "Ian will be okay. You will be okay."

"Ian." I say and I straighten up. I wipe my tears away on my sleeve. "I have to go." I say and I stand up. Sunny joins me and we both rush to Doc's.

"Ian!" I say and I rush to take his hand. He isn't healed like I assumed he would be. If anything, he looks worse than he did in the hallway to the room. "Why haven't you used heal on him yet?" I ask Doc.

"Wanda…" Doc says calmly and my heart stops briefly. "We are low on it. I used some on him but we have to keep it in case something worse happens."

"But… he's hurt." I say and look to Ian. He is sleeping peacefully. In case something worse happens? What could be worse than Ian almost being beaten to death?

"I've given him some peace to help him sleep it off. Most of his injuries are internal. Heal won't work as well with internal injuries." Doc explains carefully. I nod my head understandingly. I need to be calm for both of us.

"Wanda…" Kyle starts but Sunny puts her hand on his arm as if to stop what he is about to say. She whispers something and Kyle forces a smile on his face. I turn back to Ian and focus all of my attention on this beautiful, broken human being. "He'll be healed in no time." Kyle promises. "I know this is a silly question but are you staying here tonight?"

I nod my head. "I won't leave him." I tell him but I don't move my eyes away from Ian. "I won't leave him alone."

"I figured." Kyle says and I can hear his slight smile in his voice. "Sunny and I are going to call it a night. Doc promised he would come get us if we were needed." Kyle walks over and places and arm on my shoulder gently. "He also promised he would check you out no matter how much you detest. You can still watch Ian while Doc checks you out." Kyle's hand grazes my shoulder gently in a comforting way. "Goodnight Wanda."

"Goodnight, Kyle." I say and look to Doc. Now is as good of a time as any to get checked out. Ian is asleep and I don't want to keep Doc up all night.

Doc checks me out and besides some bruising I have specifically on my neck, I am clear. No internal injuries. It seems that Ian got the worst of the attack and somehow that makes me feel worse. This was because of me, because of his love for me, and I couldn't stop it.

"I'll be in the next room over if you need me." Doc says as he pulls a gurney beside Ian's for me to be able to lie beside Ian tonight. "Please don't hesitate to ask." Doc says and I nod and thank him.

Doc leaves and I pull myself on the gurney. I turn onto my side so I can watch Ian and I reach my hand out to gently rest my hand against his. I watch as his chest rises and falls calmly. He is in peace. His body is working on healing him. Soon, he'll be better. Soon, everything will be back to normal. I close my eyes for a second because they are becoming too heavy to hold open. I am exhausted but I need to make sure Ian is safe and alive at all times.

I close my eyes for a few moments and I almost give into sleep when I feel a gentle hand grazing across my neck. My eyes shoot awake. I meet beautiful sapphire eyes and a smile instantly comes across my face. "My Wanda…" Ian whispers as his fingers move gently across my neck, no doubt that he is tracing over the markings on my neck. "What did they do to you?" His eyes have fire in them and something I have never seen before in his eyes-hatred.

My hand comes up to meet his and I never lose eye contact with him. "I am okay." I reassure him. "That's the worst of it. The bruises will fade soon enough. You're the one who was attacked the most." I tell him. He moves slightly and I see him wince. "Doc is almost out of heal so he couldn't give you a significant dose. But there is some peace that I can give you if you are in pain. Doc says the worst you have is two broken ribs and bruising. He healed any cuts you received. The men are locked up. Kyle is worried about you and me. He doesn't say it but I can see it." I say and try to think of other things to fill him in on.

"Wanda…" Ian says. "Come here." Ian slides over to give me room to lay beside him. I clumsily get onto his gurney and lay beside him. I am scared to do what I most want to do right now. I am scared of touching him or leaning into him and hurting him. Ian realizes this and he moves against me, wrapping an arm around me and kissing my forehead.

"Does it hurt?" I ask him. I am not sure if I want the answer or not. If he is hurting, there is not much I can do about it. I have never felt so hopeless in my life.

"A little, but I'd rather be close to you and be in pain, than to have you away from me." Ian says.

We have a few moments of silence before I blurt out what I've been holding in. "I am so sorry. I am so weak. You were getting hurt and I couldn't stop it. I wanted to stop it. I would have done anything for them to stop but I was weak. So now you are broken and beat up because of me. Because you dared to love me, Ian. I am so sorry. This is my fault. How could you not be mad at me? What they did to you was because you love me… When you fell to the ground and I couldn't reach you I thought you were dead. I thought I lost you." I tell him and I realize I am crying only because Ian has wiped a tear from my eye.

"Shh… Wanda…" Ian says and he kisses my forehead again. "This is not your fault. It is those cruel mens' faults. They ripped you from me. They held you back. You are stronger than you think. I love you, Wanda. I will always love you. I will continue to love you even if I have to get beaten like this every day. It would be worth it to spend a lifetime with you. It would be worth a beating just to spend a day with you. Please don't let them tear you down. Don't let them tarnish us."

"I am so sorry. I trusted them. You tried to warn me and I thought you were just being silly. They could have killed you. They would have killed you." I say and shake my head.

"You choose to see the best in people and sometimes that can be a weakness but I love that part of you. That trait is what made you forgive me and my brother. They will get justice. I just need you to know how much I love you." Ian whispers to me. "I thought I was going to lose you again."

I lean more into him. "I thought I was going to lose you." I say to him and gently run my fingers up his arm. "It terrified me. I am sorry for ever putting you through that."

"No more apologies Wanderer." Ian says to me and I can tell he is tired. "Are you okay?" He asks as his hand touches my neck again.

I nod, "Doc says my neck bruising is the worst of it. It will fade." I kiss his t-shirt covered chest because it is the closest part of him to me. I let my lips linger there and I feel his heartbeat pulsing in his chest.

"I love you Wanda." Ian whispers softly.

"I love you Ian." I whisper back to him, and place my lips back to his chest over his heart. The pulse is strong, like everything about Ian. It is a sign of his life. It is a sign of his healing. The beat acts as a promise to me- soon Ian will be better, soon everything will be okay. I let the pulse lull me into sleep with thoughts of Ian filling my head.

Everything will be okay as long as I have Ian O'Shea by my side.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the story! I have been meaning to write an O'Wanda fic and this idea just came to me. If anyone is interested in this continuing with at least one more addition let me know! Thanks for reading!


	2. The Right Punishment

A/N: Hello lovely readers! Thanks for the favorites/follows and special thanks to the reviews that inspired me to keep writing this story. This is the second installment and might be the last. I am not sure. If people show interest, I could continue. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Right Punishment

The next morning I wake up to Doc checking on Ian. I slide a little to get off the gurney to make room for Doc but Ian's grip on me tightens a little. His eyes shoot awake and I can see it in his eyes that he wants me to stay where I am. I nod my head and curl myself back into him gently. "Everything looking good, Doc?" I hear Kyle's voice ask and I notice he and Jared are in the room too.

I smile to both of them and run my fingers up and down Ian's chest.

"He is healing nicely. I think I'm going to try to give him another dose of heal and peace. Maybe it will help quicken the process." Doc says calmly and goes to the medicine cabinet.

"You asshole!" Melanie's voice cuts in as she rushes into the room. She glares at Jared but makes her way to me. "Jared you are such an asshole! How could you keep this from me? It's Wanda! And Ian! But they could have been killed! And you just carried on as if I had no right to know!" Melanie shouts and her eyes are full of fury. I shiver and Ian's hand takes mine to comfort me. I know Mel won't hurt anyone but it still terrifies me to see the fury in her eyes.

"Mel…" Jared says and walks towards her.

Mel sends a warning glare to him. "Save it." She says shortly and turns her attention to me. "Are you okay Wanda? I'm so sorry I didn't come by last night. I had no idea!" Mel says and her hand skims over my hair. "Sunny filled me in on everything just a minute ago…" Mel glares at Jared and even sends a glare to Kyle. "Your neck…"

"It's okay now." I say as my hand touches where I know the bruises are. "Ian got the worst of it. It seemed they… hated him more because he loves me. They were worse on him." I tell her. Ian pulls my hand in his to his lips and gently kisses it.

"Ian, I'm so sorry!" Mel says. "Jeb has them locked up. There will be a tribunal when you and Wanda are up for it. Jeb won't stand for anything but justice for the assholes who did this."

"Can we talk about something else?" I ask. "I don't want to keep thinking about it."

Everyone agrees to talk about something and the next topic on everybody's mind is the harvest that is mere days away. The cave is almost talking about nothing else. The harvest is to be the biggest one yet which is well-needed with more and more people living Jeb's caves.

…

Slowly, everyone leaves to help prepare for the harvest and Ian and I are left alone. Ian pulls me closer to him. "I thought they would never leave." He whispers to me with a smile that still melts me even after all this time.

Ian stretches and groans. "I need to walk around Wanda." He proclaims and moves to sit up.

"No Ian!" I say, louder than I meant to. "You need to heal."

"As nice as lying beside you all day is Wanda, it is going to kill me. I haven't stayed in a bed this long in about a decade." Ian sits up and groans quietly. I can tell he suppressed the groan to try to prove to me he was ready to walk around. "I need circulation in my legs. I need to look at something besides this ceiling."

"That's why you have me here." I smile to him and sit up on the gurney. Ian is already moving to stand so I quickly rush over so that he can hold onto me. He smiles at me and instead of using my arm as a railing to get himself off the gurney he laces his fingers with mine and gently gets off the gurney.

He kisses the top of my head. "I couldn't have asked for a better nurse." Ian says. "Let's go see what the rest of the cave is up to?"

He leads me out of Doc's and down towards the kitchen. I stop him for a moment. "Promise me you won't push it? When you get tired or if you feel pain we head straight back to Doc's. Promise me, Ian."

He smiles to me again. "I promise, Wanda."

…

It's been a week since the attack and I still have nightmares. I try to avoid having them by thinking about all of the good things in my life until I fall asleep. I always hope this will push my fears away but I have only had one full night of sleep since the attack. I know it is worrying Ian. When I wake up shouting he jumps awake and pulls me closely to protect me from whatever it is I am screaming about. When he realizes we are in our room alone he relaxes a little and then kisses my forehead. He talks to me until I fall asleep again in his arms.

But the tribunal is today and I am hoping that with the decision my nightmares will fade away. I need a good night's sleep and so does Ian.

"I'm sorry about last night." I say to Ian as we are both getting dressed, facing the walls because we still haven't had sex and Ian is trying to respect me. I wouldn't mind changing in front of him, I trust him completely. But Ian is comfortable with this arrangement and now is not the time to make changes to our normal routine. I need to hold on to a little bit of normalcy in this craziness that has been our life since the attack.

"Are you done?" Ian asks.

"Yes."

I turn around and Ian walks over to me. "Stop apologizing Wanda." Ian says softly as his hand runs gently through my hair. "You cannot control the nightmares. I am fine." I nod my head and wrap my arms around him. I feel his heartbeat against my face and I focus on it for a moment. I forget about everything except Ian. "What are you going to say today, Wanda?" I step back and look at him trying to read his face. "I mean I think I know what you will say but I want you and me to be on the same page today."

"I'm not going to say we should kill them if that's what you are asking." I tell him and take my arms from around his waist. I wrap them around me now as a shield. Even after they did what they did to Ian and to me, I couldn't give those men a death sentence. I still couldn't say that I would give them a harsh punishment. Truth is I had no idea what I was going to say today at the tribunal. I couldn't deny that they had attacked me like I did with Kyle. I wasn't sure I even wanted to deny it. They could have killed Ian, they would have killed Ian and that should be unforgivable.

"I was going to suggest letting them go with an agreement to break the alliance between our colonies at least for a couple of years." Ian says to Wanda.

"That's all?" I ask him. "What happened to the Ian who wanted to throw his own brother out of the caves after attacking me?"

Ian shrugs. "People make mistakes. You have taught me about the power of forgiveness, Wanda. I was once someone who wanted to kill you, and you forgave me. My brother tried to kill you too and you let him go freely and now you both have a good relationship. I don't think that in our current situation, adding more tension between souls and humans is a good thing. No matter what the story is, there is always people that will believe that this all happened because of an evil, parasitic soul. They won't blame the men that attacked two people, but will blame all of the souls and anyone who allies themselves with them. People will say that the men were driven to attack us because of the circumstances. We are already fighting a hard battle to survive; we need peace where we can find it."

I smile in wonder of him. I am certain that no matter how much time passes between us I will always be amazed by this human with eyes the color of sapphires. "I love you." I tell him and I move closer and wrap my arms around him. "I'm by your side." He smiles down to me and leans close to my face. His lips touch mine gently and it feels pure and full of light. I swear my heart is dancing in my chest.

"Wanda and Ian…" Jamie's voice interrupts our kissing. He apologizes when we separate and we turn to him. "It's time for the tribunal."

"Thanks kid," Ian smiles and pats Jamie on the back. I follow behind them as we go to the game room.

When we enter the room, everyone from the caves is in the room except for a few that have decided to help keep the children away. The three men that attacked Ian and I are at the front of the room with their hands tied tightly with rope. I guess the men still can't be trusted to not be violent even with all of the witnesses. Now I can see the men clearly and they all look so familiar. All of the men have thick, dark, close-cut hair. Two of the men are almost identical; one is smaller in frame and has green eyes. The largest one of the three has a scar that runs down the length of his bicep. My eyes meet his dark ones and my hand goes to my neck instinctively. He is the one that almost squeezed the life out of me. None of the men are small by any means; they are built from years of surviving. Two of three men tower over Ian. I am surprised more damage was not done that night. This tribunal is different than the last I was involved in. I can't pretend that these men didn't attack me. Jeb, Jared, and Kyle know what they came up on and there is no way I could even try to convince them that it was nothing even if I wanted to.

I walk towards the front of the room and everyone turns to stare at me. I feel self-conscious and I wish I could just turn around, walk out and hide away for a couple of days. But this tribunal has been put off long enough. Jeb wanted Ian to have mostly healed for the tribunal and he thought it would give every one enough time to think more clearly. I am thinking clearly, but my thoughts keep going back to Ian's grunts and the sound of fists hitting bone. I feel darkness creep inside of me as I feel something I have never felt for a human before. I hate these men for what they did to Ian and what they planned on doing to him. Maybe in time I will move away from hatred towards forgiving them. But right now when I look at them I hear Ian's grunting and Ian's screaming, I can't force myself to be friendly towards them. Not right now, not after only a week. I look down towards the ground to avoid the people that are staring at me and to avoid the three men that are standing up front waiting to be judged.

A warm hand takes mine and I recognize it instantly as Ian's gentle hand. I look up to him and force a small smile. I know he can see through it though. He stops us and moves in close to my ear. "Everything will be okay," he whispers and I know he is right. We just have to get through this. I nod my head and give him a genuine smile then we continue towards the front hand in hand. When we reach the front, the room becomes eerily silent and Jeb takes the floor. He smiles to both Ian and I.

"This tribunal is called for the crimes committed by Derek Oliver, Blake Peters, and Jason Peters. These three men attacked members of this cave after being read the rules that no one was to be attacked. They broke the rules and according to their agreement that qualifies for them to be shot. That was the warning I gave to all of the visitors on the day them came to the caves. Each individual agreed to it. Now, I have been told that having them shot is not the best consequence. So that is the reason for the tribunal. Ian and Wanda will give their accounts of the events and Kyle will also testify to what he saw that night. Any other witnesses may be called upon if needed." Jeb says and the entire room holds their focus on him the whole time he is speaking. No one dares to go against Jeb.

Jeb asks me to go first and I explain what happened the night Derek, Blake and Jason attacked me. When Jeb asks me if I think the attack was premeditated, I tell him that I do not know what they were thinking but it is very possible that the attack was an impulsive act. This makes Melanie scoff because she thinks I am being too lenient on the attackers. Jeb then asks Ian to say what he remembers from that night. Ian's story matches mine almost perfectly, but he shares his worry about me that night. Jeb thanks both Ian and I for sharing and telling the truth. Then he turns to Kyle and nods to signal Kyle to move to the front. Kyle kisses Sunny's forehead before coming forward.

"Kyle, if you would please share with everyone what you remember from that night?" Jeb asks and Kyle nods.

"Jared, Jeb and I were walking through the halls that night. Jared and I were headed back to our rooms and Jeb wanted to see Mel. We heard sounds of a struggle and I thought I heard some grunting. So we followed the sounds and we found Derek with his hand around Wanda's throat. He was trying to strangle her. Blake was kicking Ian in his ribs and I am pretty sure Ian was already unconscious at that point. The third one, Jason, seemed to be heading towards Blake to help him finish off my brother."

"There is no way he knows what he was going to do Jeb!" Eric, the leader of the other human colony speaks up. His dark eyes have never seemed quite this dark to me. He is completely exhausted and even his usually vibrant dark skin has lost its brilliance. His huge, muscular form is tense and his hands are balled into fists. He is not happy with how this is going. I am sure this is not how he planned for this trip to go. Half of the room is surprised Eric spoke up. They seem so fascinated by this and I just wish it would end so we could go back to everything being normal. Jeb glares at him for interrupting and Eric does not say anything else. After a few moments of silence, Jeb looks over to Kyle for him to continue.

"It seemed like he was heading over to join his brother. Jeb, Jared and I acted quickly and before they saw us we pulled some weapons on them to get them to stop. Jeb took Jason and held a gun to his head. Jared wrapped his arm around Blake's neck and placed his knife against Blake's side. I went to help Wanda. Derek released her neck from his grip only after Jeb threatened to kill them all. We rushed Ian to Doc as quickly as we could." Kyle explains to everyone.

"Can you inform every one of the injuries Ian and Wanda obtained during the attack?" Jeb pushes Kyle and Kyle nods.

"When Doc found Ian he had two broken ribs, bruising on his torso and face, and several small cuts along his body. Doc was nervous he would have a concussion but it appears my brother's head is as thick as mine." Kyle sends Ian a smile and then his face becomes serious again. "We were low on our medicine. Ian's healing time was longer than it should have been. Doc swore that he probably had internal bleeding in his torso as well but he never showed any of the signs. With time, more bruises developed and darkened on his skin. His arms were covered with them as well."

Jeb nods and thanks Kyle. "As everyone can see these men have broken the promise they took when they entered these caves. I could rightfully shoot each of them. I would gladly do it too."

"But it's not the right thing to do, Jeb." Ian's voice interrupts him and I take Ian's hand as Jeb sends a glare to Ian for interrupting him. "Look, I want these three men punished but the punishment should fit the crime. I am almost healed now; they did not kill anyone. Our alliance with Eric and his group of resistance is important for everyone. We are a rare species now. It will not do anyone any good to fight against each other when we have a planet to get back." Ian says to Jeb.

"What would you suggest, Ian?" Jeb asks.

Ian turns to the three men, "You probably wouldn't believe that I was exactly like you guys. I hated the Souls until I met a Soul." Ian turns to me and smiles. "I fell in love with her. But that was after I tried to kill her. I once tried to strangle her," Ian shivers in disgust at the thought of strangling me; I squeeze his hand, and smile to him. "She showed me that there is more to humanity than simply being the ruling species on a planet. Humanity involves caring, kindness, and most importantly love-

"Oh just get to it!" Derek sighs. Ian glares at him.

"There is more to this life than hatred. And I hope that one day you three find that out for yourselves. I want to give you an opportunity to discover that on your own and you need to be alive to learn that lesson. But I cannot trust you three right now. I am sorry Eric, but I am suggesting that we break our trade agreement for a year. One year without trade and visiting between the two colonies. I am also suggesting that we hold our information trading between colonies for five years. I do not feel confident in trusting them with the knowledge of extraction. If they wished to extract a Soul from a human they could bring it to our caves and we would safely extract it. And lastly, I suggest that this becomes effective immediately and our company leaves as soon as possible." Ian says and I look around the room. No one is arguing, Eric's expression is unreadable.

Jeb nods his head after thinking it over for a moment. "Eric, do you agree to this?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I? I wish the information embargo would be less time." Eric says to Jeb.

Jeb thinks for a moment. "I agree that five years is a long time. For now, that will be the deal. When we begin trading again we will hold a meeting and see if the situation can be altered. Is that fair?"

Eric nods. "It is better than having them shot."

Jeb asks for any objections to this and no one speaks up. "Then it is decided. Eric's colony will leave at daybreak tomorrow and the embargo will last for a year." Jeb claps his hands and smiles proudly to Ian. "For the safety of the members of my colony, I insist that the three men be kept where they have stayed for the past week."

"We aren't prisoners anymore!" Derek argues. "You have already delivered our sentencing."

"But you are still criminals. I will not risk the safety of my colony members again. This is not up for debate." Jeb says.

"I believe it is a fair request." Eric says and the three men look to their leader, defeated. "Jeremy, lead them to their accommodations and I will join you later." A dark-skinned man stands next to the three men and he leads them out of the room.

Eric walks over to me, and he is joined by a woman with fiery red hair. She smiles to me as they approach. She is small and dainty. She appears even smaller beside Eric. Her hand takes his proudly and I am reminded that it is in fact a strange world. "I apologize on behalf of my colony members." Eric says very formally. "I was actually all for them getting shot and it being the end of it but my colony would not have been pleased." Eric says softly to Ian and I, and smiles. He has gained some of his brilliance back. It seems that the weight has been lifted off of him after the verdict was given. "I am happy to hear that you both are healing. I assure you this will not be the only punishment they will receive. They will have bathroom cleaning duty for months." This makes Ian smile a little. "I am also sorry that we did not have time to better acquaint ourselves. I look forward to meeting you both again." Then he turns to Ian. "Thank you for reminding us of our humanity." They shake hands and I am sad that this is the first time I have really interacted with Eric. He is friendly but I am sure that like Jeb, his friendliness disappears when necessary. "I need to get going. We will talk again." He ensures. Ian nods and tells him it was nice to meet him.

"I will be there shortly, babe." The fiery headed woman says and smiles to Eric. He smiles and winks to her.

"You both are so… inspiring." She smiles to us. "Oh, I am Rose by the way. It is so beautiful how strong your love is and how you stick beside each other no matter what."

I smile and look to Ian. He winks at me and I turn back to Rose giggling slightly. "We are lucky." I tell her.

"Well take it from someone who has been on a similar road, there will always be people who hate beautiful things." Rose gently moves a stray strand of hair out of my face. "Half of the colony hated it when Eric and I got together. Most of them did not understand it. We are so different you see. He is strong and level-headed and I am friendly and a dreamer. We balance each other quite nicely. Stay strong and always remember the love. It will get easier." Rose smiles to me. "I look forward to seeing the both of you again."

"Thank you!" I say and my smile grows. "We look forward to seeing you again as well."

"I will leave you two alone and go find Eric now. Goodnight." She smiles and dances away.

I turn to Ian and he wraps his arms around me. I lean against his chest with my cheek against his chest. His heart is pumping normally again and it calms me.

"It's a strange world, Wanderer." He whispers to me and kisses my forehead.

"The strangest." I tell him with a smile on my face. I look up to him and stand on my toes to kiss him.


End file.
